Authorities have readopted COVID-19 control measures but avoid mention of the disease. The sudden death of a vaccine ambassador has attracted attention.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has reintroduced some COVID-19 control measures, including new mask and vaccination mandates, as an outbreak of what it calls “atypical pneumonia” continues to wreak havoc across the country.
The mandates signal the severity of the epidemic in China. At the same time, the regime continues to avoid admitting that this wave of “pneumonia,” which has been building up for three months, is likely another wave of COVID-19.
In official COVID-19 case data for November—which have been questioned by the public—authorities reported a reduction in infection numbers compared to October. Meanwhile, China-based experts have been saying that a peak of infection is expected in January.
CCP’s Claims
According to a Dec. 13 report by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30, there were 135 new severe cases of COVID-19 infection and eight deaths across the whole of mainland China. By contrast, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported approximately 19,444 weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Nov. 25 and at least 957 deaths. While the two nations have different data definitions, the divergence has seen the international community criticize the CCP for its lack of transparency on COVID-19 cases.
The CCP has been accused by the international community of seriously underreporting COVID-19-related data and covering up the scale of the outbreak in mainland China since the initial outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019. COVID-19 was originally called “Wuhan pneumonia” because of the disease’s origins and symptoms.
Again, officially reported numbers now stand in contrast to the overwhelming reports across media and social media showing overcrowded Chinese hospitals, increasing claims of “white lung” pneumonia, and rising pneumonia deaths across the country.
A total of 5,255 local cases of COVID-19 were caused by Omicron mutant strains, covering 73 evolutionary branches, the Chinese authorities said in the November report. The main prevalent strains of the Omicron variant were those of the XBB series. Incidents of severe disease were lower than the 24 deaths and 209 severe cases officially reported in October, according to the report.
By Alex Wu
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